Sanjay Manjrekar Picked India’s Playing XI For WTC Final, No Place For Jadeja: The World Test Championship’s final is just two days away and the anticipation and excitement among the fans is at its peak. The mega-event has become one of the most-talked about topics on social media.
Recently, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar came up with India’s playing XI for the WTC Final against New Zealand. Surprisingly, Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja, were the two most notable absentees from Manjrekar’s playing XI.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Sanjay Manjrekar picked his playing XI keeping in mind the typical England conditions where there will be a mixture of cloud cover and sunny days. He said:
“I’m assuming you have typical English conditions. I’m assuming there will be a mixture of sun and cloudy cover throughout the five days of the Test match if it goes the distance. So I’m picking the team accordingly.”
For the top five spots in his playing XI, Sanjay Manjrekar picked the obvious choices. Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma were picked as the openers for team India. Cheteshwar Pujara was picked for the number 3 spot and he was followed by the Indian skipper Virat Kohli and his deputy Ajinkya Rahane at number 4 and 5 respectively.
Manjrekar further went in with Hanuma Vihari at no. 6, explaining that team India will need someone with a compact technique in the middle-order. He picked Vihari over Ravindra Jadeja and for number 7, Manjrekar picked Rishabh Pant. He said:
“Going to have Hanuma Vihari to reward him for his brilliant innings before he got injured. India will need somebody with more compact defensive technique. Because the guys at the top of the order barring Pujara aren’t those kind. So I will have Hanuma Vihari at number 6. Pant at 7, considering India have hardly had any practice game. I just want to make sure the batting runs deep.”
Ravi Ashwin was picked as the only spinner in Manjrekar’s playing XI . Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah are the two seamers in the team, with Mohammed Siraj accompanying them.
Manjrekar explained the reason why he picked Mohammed Siraj over Ishant Sharma. He revealed:
“Want Siraj, the swing bowler to be brought into the equation and the last time Siraj bowled overseason in Australia, got a five wicket haul. Hard to leave a bowler like him out. You will be tempted to think of Siraj because when you look at Shami Bumrah and Ishant, they are more seam bowlers, hit the deck kind of bowler. Siraj might offer something different. I would go with Siraj. But India might play Ishant for obvious reasons.”
Sanjay Manjrekar’s playing XI for WTC Final: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
